Next to electricity & water, having a reliable internet provider in Germany is probably the most important utility at home. It defines our work life, our entertainment & it connects us with family & friends back home.
Setting up an German internet line can however be a arduous process. Germany is simply not very good at it. At the end of this post, you will know how the process looks like, which providers you should consider & how to get a temporary connection until yours is settled. A little research can go a long way on this topic.
Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.
Comparing the best internet providers in Germany
It’s a complicated market out there with a wealth of providers & plans. You compare internet plans with services such Preisvergleich.de or Check24 for your location. This website allows you to get the cheapest plan for your needs. Just enter your postal code here or there to verify your DSL/cable availability. and pick a plan among the ones offered to have internet in Germany. Here are some keywords to filter through them:
- Laufzeit or Mindestvertragslaufzeit: Commitment terms of the contract. Usually in 24, 12 or 1 month cycles.
- Telefon-Flatrate: This option includes a phone line with unlimited calls, sometimes also towards international numbers (Auslands-Flatrate).
- Fernsehen: this option includes IPTV, to get TV service through your internet line too. It sometimes include access to international channels.
- Vorwahl: Local phone area code (eg: 030 for Berlin) this field is relevant to show regional providers & if you have access to cable too. If you don’t know what your area code is, you can use this website.
Comparing is sometimes complex. In an effort to cut through noise & make things simple for you, here are some recommendations of what we think are the best internet providers in Germany.
Best starter option for most
1&1: Currently offering one of the best internet connection in Germany, 1&1 has also reasonable ranges of prices and steady network performance up to 50Mbits/sec. The router provided with any internet connection is quite good. It has plans with no minimum contract duration too.
Their basic offer (DSL Flex 16) is 16Mbits/sec for 29,99€.
Best premium service
Telekom (Deutsche Telekom): The historical internet service provider in Germany is running under the name “T-home”. It is often considered providing the best service quality and the best customer service. It is also a bit more costly to get internet in Germany through them. There is a 2 year contract attached.
The basic offer starts (Magenta Zuhause XS) at 16Mbits/sec for 29,95€
Best option via cable
Vodafone: The British company also has offers with complete packages (Phone, TV and internet) starting as cheap as 27,90€. Its network is however not as extensive as the other service providers. There is a 2 year contract attached.
It also offers interesting packages with mobile plans for 29,99€
Internet for temporary stays in Germany
If you stay in Germany for only a few weeks or a few months, you should look for the keyword “Ohne Mindestlaufzeit” or “Ohne Mindestvertragslaufzeit” when looking at the different offers. This translates to “no minimum duration”. It means that you don’t commit to a yearly contract and you can cancel your contract at anytime. There is a little trick though; usually the cancellation notice time is 3 months, so make sure to let your German internet provider know in good enough time.
If you are staying in country for under a month, the best solution might be to turn to prepaid SIM cards with generous data plans or so called”surf sticks” that let you know browse the internet via a USB dongle:
- Vodafone CallYa – 20€ : 4 weeks commitment with 15GB of data and unlimited phone calls & sms in Germany.
- O2 Loop – 14,99€ : no time commitment with 15GB of data and 200 Min/SMS (or free to o2 numbers) in Germany.
- Blau Allnet L – 17,99€ : no time commitment with 12 GB of data and unlimited phone call & sms to Germany.
- Edeka Mobil 14,95€: no time commitment with 5GB of data.
Having internet access until your line is activated
It takes sometimes weeks until a technician comes into your building to open a line. If you are working or studying from home, this can quickly become a stressful situation. Here are some tips to help until the situation is resolved:
- Hotspots: They are public access points put in place by ISPs, mostly in larger cities. There are several millions of them operated by Telekom & Vodafone across the country. There is a chance you could have access to one of them in your home. You can buy a pass at a reasonable price (25-30€/month) from each provider to get unlimited access to them. Remember however that since those are public access points, there is a potential intrusion risk from other users. You can use a VPN in Germany to protect your connection in this case.
- 5G wifi routers & surf sticks: those are a bit on the pricey hands & can be fairly limited in bandwidth or data, but since it relies of mobile network, it’s pretty much a plug & play situation. Make sure that they don’t come with a long contract commitment. That was we described just above.
- Coworking spaces: For freelancers in urgent need of an internet connection, they can be a life savior. It’s also a great way to get out of the home to work. Here is a list of coworking spaces in Berlin.
- Public librairies: For students & professionals alike, public librairies & university librairies provide a quite haven. Best of all: connection is for free.
- Cafés: a less desirable option but a good temporary measure. Most cafés will have open WiFi for customers. Some of them also design their spaces for people to come with their laptops. You can use this website to find spaces that provide quiet comfy spots.
Internet line setup process in Germany
The process is the same, regardless of your internet provider in Germany:
- Find the offer that you’d like to have
- Enter your address on their website to check for available speeds in your building
- Enter your personal information
- Wait for contract confirmation
- Receive your modems – Wifi Routers
- Wait for a Deutsche Telekom technician to open your line (several days or several weeks)
Fairly often, you will need to pay for a one-time fee for the router or other equipment being provided, and fees for processing your contract to eventually open your contract with a German internet provider.
What you should know as a consumer in Germany
How much internet really costs
Beyond the monthly fee (ranging from 15€ for low DSL speeds to 70€+ for a fiberglass line), there are some things to keep in mind:
- There are fees involved with the router: For some reason, the costs of the router is billed separately from the line itself. As a result, the price shown on banners is often lower than the actual cost. Expect anything between 2€ & 8€.
- There are fees involved with activating the line: whenever a technician needs to physically enter your building, your German ISP will probably bill you for it, unless there is a special offer. That’s usually around 60€.
- Initial prices offer differ from the actual one: you know that trick. “Pay 0€ for 6 months, and then 50€/ month after that”. Although those offers seem attractive, it’s just way to spread the pain differently for you as a consumer. The total contract price is often the same or even higher than in regular contracts.
You have rights you can enforce
- You can pay less or terminate your contract is the advertised speed is not reached. The German Telecommunication acts entitles you to a discount if you see a deviation over a period of several days. In order to enforce this, you will need to use the official app provided by the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). It should include 20 tests on two consecutive days, spread as ten tests each day. According to the local consumer protection organization, deviations from contractual agreements impact 50% of internet users in the country.
Here is a template you can use to report low internet speed to your provider. You need to include the official certificate from the app. If the provider doesn’t improve the situation after 14 says, you can then request for a discount or terminate your contract before of service failure. - You can terminate your contract after the initial commitment term with a month notice. German internet providers used to lock customers in with yearly renewals. That’s not the case anymore. After the initial 12 or 24 month period, you can send in a termination notice. We show you how here after.
About the current state of internet in Germany
Outdated infrastructure
In a nutshell, Internet is not fast & not reliable compared to most European countries. German telecom players and the government did not make the right investment decisions 20 years ago. When fiber optic had been identified as the next way to connect the country, Telekom pretty much stalled because of costs reasons, arguing that they could provide up to to 50 Mbit/s on old-fashion copper lines. The German government went with it and that’s why we have an noncompetitive, slow connection, ranking at 25th place worldwide, right behind Slovakia and Macau. If you are interested, here is a deeper dive into this topic.
Nowadays, fiber optics (if at all) is set-up until your district’s “verteiler” (distributor box), from where copper lines are starting to go into your building. Only about 2% of the German population has access to fiber optics in their homes.
Even in middle of the German capital, actual download speed is only up to 16Mbit/s, and I insist on the “up to”, because advertised speeds are most of the time not reached.
Getting internet via cable means that data is going through cables originally meant for TV. It can be a good alternative as top speed is generally faster than than with DSL (copper lines). However, this technology has the drawback of being slow if many users share the bandwidth as once. It’s also not as common as DSL.
Relatively low competition between German internet providers
The market of internet in Germany is like in many countries. It’s an oligopoly where a few service providers are sharing between them most of the users. The overall quality of infrastructure is however relatively poor for one of strongest powers in the world. Expect a 30€ bill on average for a broad-brand connection at about 16Mbits/s. Internet service providers in Germany all offer the same range of prices for comparable offers, with little disruption or competition between providers unfortunately. Elements that will make a difference is often customer service and line setup speed.
Why it takes so long to open a line
One important thing to understand is the role of Deutsche Telekom in setting up your internet in Germany.
Deutsche Telekom was once owning the monopoly of the phone network, and in consequence of the infrastructure. The company is still responsible today for keeping most of the network up to date. That’s the reason why that even if you sign up with another internet provider in Germany than Deutsche Telekom, the company will still actually physically set your connection up if the network is its responsibility. (and charge you 69€ for opening a new line!).
However, this is changing slowly. More and more of the network is managed by other telecommunication companies.

How to cancel a contract with your German ISP
A 2021 update of the German telecommunication act (Telekommunikationsgesetz) plans for an initial commitment (usually 12 or 24 months) during which you cannot cancel the contract without penalty. At the end of this initial term, you may terminate your contract with a 1 month notice at any time.
If you leave the country for good, the German telecommunications act (§ 46 TKG Telekommunikationsgesetz) provides a special termination right for consumers. It plans for a 3 months notice from the end of the current month. In the past, providers have been reluctant to apply this rule, especially when moving to another EU country, on account of non-existent EU roaming charges. However, Telekom states that it’s possible, so is this consumer protection organisation.
To cancel your contract, send a notice in writing (preferably by post) to the customer service of your operator.
Best internet providers in Germany – FAQ
The German ISP market has plenty of offers to suite everyone. However, 1&1 is usually well regarded by newcomers & expats because there aren’t lot of strings attached. Vodafone is a good recommendation if you prefer cable technology. Telekom is seen as the most premium, quality-oriented provider out-there.
If a technician needs to come into your building to open a line, this can take anywhere between 10 days to 4 weeks. This is much shorter if you are taking over an old contract from somebody else.
While the rest of Europe bet on rolling out fiber optics from the 1990s on, German TelCo authorities decided to stick with copper lines for a long time. It only recently recognized the need for fiber glass for a modern infrastructure. This means that the pipes are too small for a good bandwidth in Germany. A relatively low competition on the ISP market is also not leading to innovation and cheaper prices for consumers.
You can cancel your contract with a month notice after your initial contract term. You can also cancel early if your internet speed is not consistent with the speed agreed in the contract. You can also cancel if you leave the country for good.
I appreciate what you said about looking at different packages by yearly contract. My cable needs to be updated. I’ll have to consider getting a package with at least 400 channels.
Sent this article to my friend who recently went to berlin to pursue his master’s degree. Said it was really helpful.
Hey Steve. Thanks a lot for doing that, I really appreciate it.
Your website is amazing,awesome, useful and a great helping hand!
Hey Bastien, thank you for this helpful article! I compared prices for my area, through check24 and found a deal from Vodafone that suits my needs. I can book the deal through check24 and get (as they claim) a cheaper plan rather than booking it from the Vodafone website. Would you recommend booking it through check24 or book the deal through Vodafone? Thank you.
Hey Christina. I’m glad it was helpful to you. Check first if Vodafone doesn’t have a comparable deal/discount somewhere for new customers. If not then Check24 is the way to go. 🙂
Hi Bastien,
We are living in Berlin but we don’t have Anmeldung yet.. We do need it to get a Router right?!
Isn’t there a way to buy a Router and use it right away?!
thanks,
Hey Carmo. Not sure if this means you already have an internet line but no router. If it’s an only a device we are talking about, you can of course buy one on your own and configure it yourself to work with your current provider.
Hello Bastien,
I work remotely and require good WiFi to do my job. As I am considering moving to Germany, do you know of any recommendations on how to get the best consistency in high internet bandwidth?
Thanks,
Mikayla
Hey Mikayla. Your best bet is to move somewhere where optic fiber is already set-up. That’s as simple as that.
Bastien,
first of all thank you for the information.
May I ask you a question? I check the availability of internet type in Check24 and also T-telekom(same as my mobile) and apply the order directly at T-telekom website. However, what I heard from them is they cannot give me exact date for technician appointment because currently they are checking available free lines. I totally didn’t get.. Do you know what does this mean and is it common?
Hey Leah. This is indeed very common. It means technicians are busy activating other lines before they can get to you.
Bastien, thanks for all the valuable information here.
One question form my side, I signed up fpr a cabla connection with Vodafone. Next day I received a call from a TV guy with an additinal conytract for TV connection. While I was planning to pay only to Vodafone, now I have to pay also the TV provider. Is this normal?
Thank you
Hey Dincer. No idea as i’m lacking a lot of context here. But in general no; you don’t need to pay for TV service to have internet.
Hey everyone, thanks for all the information !
Does the Anmeldung need to be at the address of the flat where the internet will be or not ? Per example, if I’m switching flats in Berlin, will I have to wait until I get my new anmeldung, or can I sign the internet contract with my previous anmeldung from my previous flat ?
Asking because getting an anmeldung if you are subletting can take quite a while.
Many thanks !
Hey Max. No it’s not necessary.
Thanks a lot to you for sharing these best of German internet data plans… I am new here in Germany and was looking for a good data plan for my internet connection… really appreciative and useful blog for us.
Thanks for being amazing, it’s a great experience to be here, keep up the good work
Hi, thanks for the info. I am relocating to Berlin to an apartment without wifi, and I am wondering if there are any home wifi service providers that allow you to activate a new connection with, say, a North American credit card rather than a European bank account. (I am moving from North America and I tried opening a N26 account it turns out I cannot get my account number until I arrive in Germany.) Alternatively, what is the best deal on a dongle or pay-as-you-go data for home surfing for the 2 to 4 weeks it will take me to get my connection once I order it after arrival? I would ideally like to have around 40 to 60 Gb for that time without breaking the bank!
Hi! I live in a flat, the landlord tells me there’s no Telekommunikationsanschluss, just a Kabelanschluss. Is it still possible to get a package from e.g. 1&1? Or should I get in touch with someone else to install a Telekommunikationsanschluss first?
Hey Paula. I just assume you’d need go with a cable provider then? You can always try to enter your address on their website to see if you are eligible…
I have a 3 line service, including a FAX. All incoming calls go first to the fax and not to the answering machine. How can I reverse this
Get in touch with your provider’s customer support.
Hello,
I’ll be moving to a new apartment soon and in the rental contract is a fee of 12 euros per month called “die Nutzungsgebühr für Vodafone-Kabelanschluss beträgt monatlich”. I don’t understand what this Vodafone-Kabelgebühren is about. Can anyone explain to me?
Hey Guys!
Just wanted to know if anyone has ideas on why although I was on 100mbps/50mbps back in Australia, I’d be downloading a 3gb file in around 12mins or so, but here (Berlin/Mostly Nürnberg), I went to an internet cafe and did a speed test – it said i was receiving 450mbps/15mbps but it would likely have taken 3hours or so at the very least to download. I need to find a plan or at least a short term solution (perhaps a uni? or other place someone could briefly access fast internet?) that will allow me to download big files and edit them for work. But is seeming like it will be much more difficult then i first thought (just assumed Germany had fast internet, or so ads back home had me believe…). If anyone could offer up any suggestions (hopefully inexpensive) it would be invaluable!
Hey Liam, I’d direct to this post to understand why it’s so bad. Welcome to Germany!
Most internet providers (1&1, Vodafone, Telekom) only offer fixed 24 months deals.
Only O2 seems to offer a tariff without term (Tarif ohne Laufzeit).
1&1 also have tarife ohne laufzeit
Hello everyone,
I have a question about the TAE socket for DSL.
From the internet provider (1&1) I was asked to have TAE socket, but I have only ethernet in the house. Will an adapter work?
Did anyone had a previous experience?
Really messy to settle in Berlin, at least there is this site!
Thanks 🙂
Hey Alexandros. I guess that’s a more technical question that you can ask them directly.
Hey Bastien,
I have a question, I took a package from 1&1 and got everything, line search and technician, until he say that the circuit line between the flat and the basement is gone. In that case, what to do ? Do I need to talk to 1&1 to get a server connected to the TV socket instead of telephone one ?
Thanks a lot for your answer.
Best, Paul
MMM, that’s shit. Sorry to hear about that. You need to ask them how much it would cost to have a line setup again. But of course, if you can do through cable, then you may want to go with Kabel Deutschland or a provider like that.
6 (SIX!) weeks ago I ordered the 1 & 1 internet package. I’ve been impatiently waiting since then and weekly receiving emails saying they still don’t know when the connection will be activated. A colleague moved onto the same street and had an activation date before me even if he ordered 3 weeks after me. It’s so frustrating. A German friend called their customers service twice and they still cannot estimate a date for that and the reason for such long wait. In fact, services suck in this country and the internet network is just another common issue everyone faces.
“The overall quality of infrastructure is excellent”… are you serious?
Germans are car manufacturers… they know Mechanical stuff so good …but in everything else, they are very bad at it including customer service… they are so bad at it, that most Mercedes Benzes are actually advertised and sold by other European countries for them..
They can’t even offer such thing as either “telephone call” or “internet”…
Everyone knows this in the world before coming to Germany… it is basic knowledge..
And now that I have come to Germany I see the truth but I don’t know what you mean by that surprising statement…
Is that a compliment of some sort for Germans?!
Common, we shouldn’t compliment but tell the truth as you always do very well in other cases…
Hey Henry. That’s very good feedback indeed. I’m preparing an update to this post and a follow-up on why the internet is so bad in this country.
“The overall quality of infrastructure is excellent” XD to which countries are you comparing? Nepal?
I’ve never had that bad Internet experience before and I come from eastern Europe.
I’m talking about few months of waiting for connecting and after I finally have it: regular disconnects at peak times (on weekends and evenings, sometimes even every 2 minutes) probably due to this “excellent” infrastracture in overpopulated areas.
reunification, took its toll
you have nice Haus with crappy streets in former West, whereas the now,
you have former communists with nice internet and bathrooms in somewhat
dilapidated infrastructure
Hi,
Awesome website, very very useful.
I tried to get Cable internet with vodaphone but was rejected because I only have a Luxembourg IBAN. (I also have german Anmeldung)
They told me a German Bank account with EC-Karte is mandatory.
I checked your article about opening a bank account and found that N26 would be the more convinient bank, but they only provide a Mastercard, not EC-Karte.
Any idea if a N26 bank account with Mastercard would allow me to get internet with Vodaphone ? Or any other provider ?
Thanks a lot !
N26 also provide a debit card (Maestro) that fits most EC Karte use cases.
Hi there, Does one need a german bank account to get a dsl connection? My bank is french and I tried entering the french IBAN wit 1&1 and it doesn’t seem to want to accept it. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Hi Adi. Yes you would need a local bank account. I have written a post about that too here.
hi Bastian!
thanks for this resource! it’s my go – to for everything!! which is why im back here..!
We just got our Modem from PŸUR, and it’s showing us the wifi name even.
but it asks for a login and password, which we dont have, and havent even registered yet.
as usual, nobody ever answers the customer care number, or my dozens of emails! please could you advice?
Hi Juli. Sorry; this you need to solve with your provider directly. Only you can do that. Good luck.
Hi, I received my vodafone router a couple of days ago and according to the instructions I should be able to setup everything myself – of course it didn’t work. So when you say “Generally expect a 2 weeks delay until the line is up and running” do you refer only to waiting for a technician or also situations where the line simply takes time to start working? (I am aware this question sounds extremely stupid, but I followed all the instructions both online and with the router, my building has the infrastructure specifically by vodafone, so somehow I thought this would be rather straightforward and the instructions themselves did not mention that a technician would be necessary). Thanks a lot for the help!
Hi Ana. Yes, i was referring to the delay it takes for a technician to come open the line. Not after that. You might need to call a hotline.
Hello, I just moved into my apartment in Munich and am looking for wifi just for my apartment. I only need the service for two months as I will be going home to the US after these two months. I am looking to have the wifi available asap for work and communication with family. Is there a service offered that is non-mobile, and relatively unlimited in use that I can have within my apartment for only two months? Thank you for your help.
Hi Jacob. In short; no. Maybe you can negotiate something with your neighbors ?
Hi – Is it legit to do tethering from my prepaid card (4GB/12e) to the rest from my home?
Will a laptop consume faster the data then a regular cellphone?
Can I delete the Datenautomatik trap?
Can an onlike banking (N26) do the job for a contract (montly or 24 months) – NB: banking sucks in Germany- can hardly get a MasterCard or Visa…all they do is PayPal or who knows what other cards like VPay (??) that do not work online
Thank you.
Hi Mirka. You will use up 4GB very quickly. N26 is a good recommendation for banking.
Another satisfied Telekom customer! They have blown off three appointments and the customer service is completely useless. All they are willing to do is schedule another appointment for a later day without any apology for waisting your time. I’m currently looking into canceling the process with them in favor of vodafone but am not particularly optimistic about any of these companies based on my experiences in Berlin.
The best cellular data plan is from Aldi Talk. You purchase the sim for 12 euro, which has 10 euro of credit already preloaded. You can use that 10 euro for two gigabits of data, then 5 gb is 15 euro per 30 days. You can purchase the top ups at almost any store or spati, just ask for “e-plus” aufladen.
My daughter has a Mac and is in Berlin for a couple of months. She bought a vodaphone r216 dongle which she thought would give her enough data for the whole period. But it’s run out after only a day or two. The dongle plus data cost 150€ altogether. Your advice would be very welcome – neither of us really understand what she has or what she needs!!
Hello Mary. I can see on Vodafone’s website that plans attached to this device have a maximum of 6GB of data per month for the largest plan. This amount is very little for a normal consumption. After a day or two of playing Youtube videos, the speed will then probably be throttled. It can’t be used as a normal broadband plan if that was the idea for your daughter.
Thankyou for your reply Bastien!
Mary – Before moving to Germany for good we visited here many times and ran into this problem every time except for the first. We had rented a HotSpot with German SIM card from Cellular Abroad, promising unlimited internet, with speed cutting back only after a massive amount of data used. This massive amount lasted also only a day and after that we could not get online, it was so slow. We think that it was all the background stuff on the phone that accesses the internet constantly: Weather, news, GPS, automatically checking email etc, etc. Turning that off might help and essentially use the phone only for the most basic of things. But this is only an assumption…
Another suggestion which might not be relevant to you but might help others: I had a smartphone contract in the U.S. with T-Mobile. About 3 or so years ago they changed their terms and conditions to where I could travel to Germany with my U.S. T-Mobile phone and truly have unlimited internet here. I never had problems, I was always reliably online (many other countries were included in this deal), experienced no speed reductions. The only thing I could not do for free was to use my phone for phone calls. That would have cost the usual 20+ cents per minute. I am not sure but think I heard other cellular providers in the U.S. followed suit. Maybe she can change her Verizon plan to have Germany included in such a way. Might be worth finding out….
The other thing she could do in Germany is get a hotspot and a respective SIM card (I know that T-Mobile sells these in their stores but am sure others do, too). Careful though: Some plans are for a year or more but I know we were offered slightly more expensive plans by the month as well. I suggest a monthly minimum of 5 GB data regardless. Then the same approach applies as mentioned above: Turn everything off that might use automatic online access and only get online for a few minutes, don’t watch videos, listen to online music, etc. And keep a constant eye on your data usage. It is massively inconvenient but at least that would give her some controlled access.
Hope this helps.
Jessica, We had a similar experience when we moved to Berlin a little over a year ago. It took weeks, and several appointments, replacement devices and calls to finally be connected, both for internet and a landline. I cannot tell you how often I privately screamed with frustration. Hang in there, be persistent, and maybe get a German friend, neighbor or acquaintance to help you. Telekom historically has come out of what used to be Deutsche Bundespost, a wholly government-owned entity. If you are American, think USPS and you will have a much better picture of why Telekom is so bad. Good luck!
Getting internet from T-Mobile, or Telekom, since arriving here has been a joke. I’m not sure why it’s listed as having better customer service. They never sent the router through the mail like they were supposed to and they showed up four days late to their appointment to set it up (of course, I wasn’t home!) Most of the stores do not have phone numbers to call and complain to, and the English-speaking hotline for questions literally never answers. I’m sorry, but I draw the line at waiting longer than one hour on hold. They admit they make mistakes but do not reimburse you or give you a credit for all the wasted data you have to use. I ordered internet a month ago in my home and literally, one month later, I am still waiting… with no internet to speak of!!!!!
Hey Jessica. Thanks for your message and leaving your feedback here. It’s good to know for other users that there can be disappointment with Telekom too.
I had the same experience. I signed a contract with them and I cannot even tell you how much BS I went through in the past few weeks trying to get them to help me. I recommend not going with them if you do not speak German. Yes they have an “english” speaking line, but no one actually speaks english, including when you call the line in the first place. The recorded message is in German.
In fact, I just got on the phone w/ a guy breathing into the line, speaking German… I’m on Google translator, butchering German asking for someone to speak english. He simply would not help me. And then it turned out he spoke English, but was just refusing to do so. This is Germany, so I understand to a degree, but I didn’t pay my money for someone to be hostile to me.
Hey,
I just have one small doubt. I have recently come to Darmstadt, Germany and am living with a German family as a tenant in their house. Now the house doesn’t have a phone line yet. I mean since the house was constructed, it hasn’t had a phone line connection. Can I still put up a wifi router somehow ? otherwise Could you tell me how to procure a new phone line. I could try to convince my landlords into it if it’s feasible enough.
Cheers,
Hardik
Hi Hardik. If there is no phone line to the house (which is honestly very surprising, maybe they are not aware there is one), the german internet provider you pick will get in touch with the construction & maintenance services of your city so a line is brought to the house. You don’t need to manage that part yourself but it might cost you a little bit more. It will also likely take an additional month or two.
Is this info still valid? So is there no way to cancel contracts?
Hi there Chris.This info is still up-to-date yes. Concerning cancellation when moving back home away from Germany; you are in theory allowed by law to cancel your contract with a 3 months notice, provided the provider can not continue to give you a comparable service at the same price where you are moving. (Source) In practice, i have read around in forums that internet providers in Germany don’t let go so easily.
Thanks a lot. That’s very helpful. We have the bank account, but it looks like the Anmeldebescheinigung will be a problem. I have been completely unable to set up the required appointment with a Bürgeramt. Going online for that results in no available appointments anywhere – every day. Oh well, that, too, shall pass. Thanks again!
this is probably too late to be helpful, but you don’t need to schedule an appointment in advance at Burgeramt. Just show up. I’ve gotten the best service at Burgeramt Prenzlauer Berg, but I’ve also been to the one in Kreuzberg on Yorkstrasse with no appointment and no problem whatsoever.
Hi Ben. It might be too late for Irene but it won’t be for all other visitors finding your comment relevant. 🙂
Hi, Great advice, thank you!
Was wondering though how long all this takes. We are actually moving to Berlin at the end of October and I am trying to figure out the practical ropes – where do I go (if anywhere, or just online?) to get internet, what documentation will I need, and how long will it take to get set up, i.e. be up and running.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
I would do everything online and everything could be up & running within 2 weeks provided you don’t need a technician to set up the line or the router. Documentation depends on the provider but you definitely need a German bank account. They will probably ask for a copy of an anmeldebescheinigung together with an ID as well.
Hi guys,
Your website is awesome, useful and a great helping hand!
Just wanted to let you know, the first link of the first tip, is dead.
Kind regards!
aaaaaand i stand corrected. Thanks for the hinweis.
You wrote “If you are staying only for a semester or two, be careful to sign up for a 2 year contract,”
Do you mean “If you are staying only for a semester or two, be careful NOT to sign up for a 2 year contract,”?
Typo fixed ! Thanks 🙂